Zwitterionic Polymers for SMALP Technology

This technology introduces a new class of zwitterionic polymers designed to gently break apart lipid bilayers and form stable lipid nanodiscs. These nanodiscs can capture and isolate membrane proteins in an environment that closely mimics their natural state. 
At the core of the invention is a versatile base polymer: an alternating styrene–maleic anhydride copolymer engineered with a very narrow molecular weight distribution (Ð < 1.3). This consistency improves reliability and performance. Part of the polymer is converted into an N-benzylmaleimide derivative, while the remaining units can be modified in three different ways to tune the polymer’s behaviour. These modifications include:
1.    Hydrolysis to create maleic acid repeat units,
2.    Conversion to a tertiary-amine N-alkyl maleimide, and
3.    Conversion to a zwitterionic N-alkyl maleimide.
Together, these features produce a platform polymer that overcomes multiple limitations of existing nanodisc-forming systems.